United ready to end Gareth Bale's Real Madrid nightmare

United ready to offer Welshman escape from Madrid nightmare

LOUIS van Gaal is on a roll. After nailing down Memphis Depay with a personal phone call he has rapidly moved onto Real Madrid misfit Gareth Bale.

Bale cut a forlorn figure as he drove away from the Bernabeu last night, a target for more savage abuse from Madrid supporters after another poor Champions League performance from the Welshman.

And despite Bale's comments after the game in which he claimed his form was good and that he is ready to fight on, informed speculation suggests that he is deeply unhappy and would grab an offer from Manchester United with both hands.

Bale is likely to cost upwards of £80m and a salary package worth a staggering £15m a year.

Former Real Mardid President Ramon Calderon believes that the club want Bale to stay but that he cannot predict what the Welshman might do.

"I think Gareth Bale will stay at Real Madrid. As I always say, it's the player who decides whether he leaves or not.

"I don't see Real Madrid selling him now, having paid more than €100m for him. He'll only leave if he says, 'I'm not happy here, I want to leave'."

Bale's partner and daughter have not relocated to Madrid with him and it is thought that he has not embraced Spanish, thus alientating himself from teammates and staff.

Van Gaal will know later today how much he has to spend when Ed Woodward announces Manchester United's quarterly accounts and it is thought that the Dutchman may have as much as £200m to throw at targets like Dani Alves, Ilkay Gundogan and Edison Cavani after spending £22m on Depay.